Tooth-brush.



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V. 0. BELL.

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PATENT FFICE.

VICTOR CHARLES BELL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

TOOTH-BRUSH.

Speoioatlon of Letters Patent.

Patented May 19, 1906.

Application mod December 10, 1906. luis! No. 847,909.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that L Vio'ron CHARLES BELL, a citizen of the United Statesresiding at the borough of Manhattan, in the city, county and State ofNew York, have invented certain new and useful Im rovements in Tooth-Brushes, of which the ollowing is a s ecilication, reference being hadtherein to t ie accoihrnipanying drawing, forming a art thereof.

,v invention relates to toothrushes, and has for its ob'ect thesimultaneous thorough massaging o the gunis and the effective brushingof the teet longitudinallyr thereof.

It is now a known fact in dentistry that soft and bleeding gums will, ifwell massaged, become in a short time hard and iirm, and that suchmassaging will keep them in a firm and healthy condition. In using theordinary or any of the various forms of toothbrushes now on the marketthe outer gums remain substantially untouched, because these brushes aretoo thick to enter between the gums and the overlying muscles of themouth and face, rendering it impracticable to roperly cleanse andmassage the gums .t erewith. Dental practitioners know that the teethshould be brushed lon ritiidiiiall and not transversely, and yet suc imanipu ation is difficult of attainment with the ordinary tooth-brush.

My invention includes tlie rovisoii, upon a tooth-rubbing or cleansingdevice or as it is generally known and hereinafter designated atootli-brusli, of means for cleansing an massaging the gums.

My invention also includes, more specifically, a tooth-brush in whichthe cleansing head slopes or tapers transversely from about the usualthickness or length of bristles or other cleansing material at one sideof the head to a comparativcl' thin ed re at the other side of the head,tlie thin edge of the head being adapted to pass beneath the overl ingfacial tissues to reach the gums, and tlie )rush-head for this pur )osebeing correspondingl wider so that t ie thicker portion thereo will atthe saine time act upon the teeth. The thin-edged head also permits afree movement longitudiiiall of the teeth, or u and down, lor more ciactively cleansing tie teeth and for iuassagin the gums, and m inventionalso includes t io arrangement o such a ta cred head as above describedin the form oa cross-head or in a T-shape with the brush handl'c andwith the thin-edge away from the handle, for the purpose of facilitatingsuch longitudinal movement.

My inventionfurther includes the einloynieiit of two different brushingor cleansing materials in the same brush-head, one of a naturepeculiarly adapted to brush and cleanse the teeth, such, for example, asbristles` of usual stillness, and the other of a nature peculiarlyadapted to cleanse and massa fe the gums, such, for exam 11e, as soft ruber, or bristles of a soft and ilexible qualit In t ie accompanyingdrawings I have illustrated several embodiments of in invention all ofwhich will now be particular y described by reference to such drawings,after which l will point out my invention in claims.

Figure 1 is an end view of the preferred construction. Fig. 2 is a faceview of the same, looking toward the rubbing surface. Fig. 3 is a sideelevation of the saine as viewed from the right of Fig. 2, but with thebrushhead in sectionon a plane indicated by the line as, Fig. 2. Figs. 4and 5 are similar views illustrating modiiied constructions.

The back l and the handle .2 may bemade of any suitable material and arepreferably integral as shown, the handle extending perpendicularly fromone edge of the back about midway of the length of the back.

'lo permit of the gums being cleansed and massagcd while the teeth arebein f cleansed, the back l is transversely tapcrei to a coinparativelythin edge along its free edge or op osite to the handle 2.

n the construction shown in Figs. l, .2 and 3, a gum-massaging andgum-cleansing pad 3 of soft rubber is provided adjacent to the thin edgeof the back 1 and may be secured to the back by a suitable adhesive undis shown as further secured by dove-tuning, and is et more lirinly heldin place by having a t iin portion turned backward over tho tapered edgeof the back l. 'l`ho rubber pad 3 projects slightl beyond the tapered.edge of the back l am this projecting portion, in connection with thetiirucd buck portion of the pad, assists in massaging the upper portionsof thc gums. For giving a better massaging action tho massaging sui-laceol the pad 3 ma he provided with coi'rugations us shown. `he pad 3 istapered or rodiiccd in thickness toward the thinner edge ol` tho back l,the thinner edge ol' the padbeing lill.)

sufiicientlylthin to enter to the full distancel between t e outer gumsand the overlying facial tissues.

Tooth cleansing bristles 4 are carried by the back 1 adjacent to thethicker portion of the massage ad 3 and are fixed in the back 1 in theusua manner as shown. These bristles gradually taper or decrease inlength toward the pad and away from the edge of the back to which thehandle is attached. The bristles are gradually reduced in length fromthe longest to the shortest so as to form a radual slope or tapercontinuous with the s ope or taper of the pad 3. Therefore, the entirecleansing material, com osed in this instance of the bristles 4` and t e'pad 3, is tapered transversal throu hout its width toward the tapersedge o the back 1. This thinedged or transversely slopping head permitsof a freer movement longitudinally to the teeth and such movement isfacilitated or made more practicable and convenient by the arrangementof the handle 2 at ri ht angles from or in a T-shape with the ack 1, thehandle being also substantially perpendicular to the length of thetooth-cleansing bristles 4. The back l is curved as shown to correspondwith the outer maxillary curvature.

The modified construction shown in Fig. 4 di'ers from that justdescribed in that the massa e pad is omitted and bristles are fixed inthe ack 5 along its full width, such bristles gradually tapering inlengltlh away from the handle 7 and toward the t 'n edge of the backwhere the are shortest. Thelonger bristles 6 are o the usual stiffness,but the shorter bristles 8 are of softer quality in compensation fortheir shorter length and to obviate too great severity of action intheirv gum mass g o eration.

Inailild mlddification shown in Fig. 5 the shorter or gum-massagingbristles 9 are inclined outwardly or away from the toothcleansinbristles 10 and handle l1 and so a8 to exten slightly beyond the thinneredge of the back 12, to more easily 'leach the upper portions of thegums. 1n other respects the construction and operation are the same asdescribed in reference to l" ig. 4.

It is obvious that various modifications may be made in theconstructions shown and above particularl described within the principleand scope o my invention.

I claim:

l. A tooth brush having, in combination a head elongated so as to engageseveral teeth at once and wedge-shaped in transverse cross-section so asto present an 0 eratin surface acutely inclined to the bacli of the ead,and a handle connected with the head at a oint separated from the acuteangle thereo so as not to interfere with the introduction of the headbetween the gums and the lips.

2. A tooth brush having, in combination, a head elongated so as toengage several teeth at once and wedge-shaped in transversecross-section so as to present an o )eratin f surface acutely inclinedto the back of the ead, and a handle connected with the. head at a ointseparated from the acute angle thereo and arranged substantially)erpendicular to the length of the head am at an acute angle with theworking surface thereof.

3. A tooth brush having, in combination, a head elongated so as toengage several teeth at once and wedge-shaped in transversecross-section so as to present an operatin Y surface. acutely inclinedto the bac of the head, the head comprising rum-massaging means ofcomparatively yielding character forming the part of the working surfaceadjacent to the acute angle of the cross-section and tooth-cleansingmeans of comparatively frm character forming the rest of the operatingsurface, and a handle joining the head at a point separated from theacute angle thereo -4. A tooth brush having, in combination, anelongated head comprising fum-massaging means of comparatively yie dingcharacter and teeth-cleansing means of comparatively firni character,and a handle connected with the head and substantially perpendicular tothe length thereof.

5. A tooth brush having, in combination, ahead comprising a back taperedtoward one edge, gnm-massafing means of a comparatively ielding caracter sup )ortcd by the back a( jacent to its thinner e ge, andteethcleansing means of coinparativel firm character sup ort-ed by theback adjacent to its thicker e( ge, and a handle connected with the.backat its thicker edge and substantially erpendicular thereto.

6. 1i) tooth brush havin f, in combination, a head comprising a backtapered toward one edge, rum-massaging means of comparatively yielllingcharacter supported by the back adjacent to its thinner edge andtapering toward such ed fe, teeth-cleansing means of com )aratively irmcharacter supported by the liack adjacent toits thicker edge andtapering toward the gum-massaging means, and a handle connected with thethicker edge of the back and substantially perpendicular thereto.

7. A tooth brush ln vin f, in combination, a head comprising a bristle)ortion for aeting on the teeth and a soft ruliber portion for acting onthe gums, and a handle connected with the head and substantiallyperpendicular to the length of the head and of the bristles thereon.

8. A toot-h brush having, in cmnbination, a head comprising a back tuered toward one edge, teeth-cleansing bristles supported by the backadjacent te its thicker edge a lGO gum-massaging pad supported by thehead adjacent to its thinner edge, and a handle connected with thethicker edge of the back and substantially erpendicular thereto.

9. A tooth brus 1 havin f, in combination a head comprising a bactapered toward one edge, a soft rubber gum-massaging ad supported b theback adjacent to its t inner ed re an taperin toward such edge, andteeth-c eansing brist es supported by the back adjacent to its thickeredge and taper- In testimony whereof l have aflixed my signature inpresence of two witnesses.

VICTOR (.II'IARLES BEM i.

Witnesses:

BERNARD Cowan, JOHN FREUND.

